Monday, 1 December 2008

ART IN NATURE

This afternoon I went for a walk from my place up the track behind the Mt Osmond golf course, towards Eagle on the Hill. I have walked this route a thousand times over the years and I always see something different. There are magnificent views, first of the city to the coast, then to Mt Lofty and, further around along the ridge, you can see down to Glenelg, on one side, and across the face of Waterfall Gully and along the hills to the northeast, on the other. In winter when it is green it is beautiful walking amongst the gum trees and sometimes there is an icy wind that seems to come from the snowy mountains, thousands of miles away. But this time of the year, the grass is dry and brown and the breeze is just lovely and cool and it is good to be able to sit in the shade of a tree and contemplate the world..... keeping an eye out for snakes, of course!

The landscape of the Adelaide Hills is dominated by the gum tree... around here it is mostly the South Australian blue gum...... and because they are evergreen, it is the same all year round. But look at what I found today, under a copse of young gum trees along the path.....

Sometimes when the old leaves fall they are reddish like this..

But I have never seen gum tree leaves look like these!

These are like water colour paintings and so purple... I promise I have not done a thing to the photos....